Anna writes:

"On Monday July 12th 2004, I had a chance to meet visitors from various French-speaking countries in Africa. There were three groups. I enjoyed talking with them, but I wanted to have more and more time to talk with them. Maybe it was the first time for me to talk with people from various French-speaking countries in Africa, I felt a few differences between Japanese English, which means the English Japanese speak, not native speakers, and people from French-speaking countries, who speak faster I think.
In the first group, we only introduced ourselves. When I heard their introductions, I thought they could introduce themselves with their attractive personalities. The first impression is important.
In the second group, I talked with a teacher from Benin. It is between Togo and Nigeria. I have never heard her country's name before. So she showed me a map. She is a chemistry teacher in Benin, and is interested in Japan. I asked her why she became a teacher and chose Chemistry among many subjects. She answered, "I want to teach students the fun of study because a lot of knowledge makes students' lives happier and allows them to come to lead a full life. Chemistry is a more complex subject than many people think in Benin. But it was a motivation for me to teach Chemistry." In Benin, most students don't like Chemistry, the same as Japanese. Then, she tried to do the class with some chemical experiments in a term. I thought that it is important for students in both Benin and Japan to study with realia. She wanted me to tell her about the Chemistry classes in Japan, so I told her about usual Japanese Chemistry classes. Finally, I asked her what the best method of studying English is. This is her answer, "Study English in English from the first time, NOT in the native language. If students don't understand the meaning of an English word, teachers should use gestures." It is essential to make more time to speak or hear English, I also thought.
In the third group, I talked with a teacher from Sao Tome and Principe. They are islands with nature and many people go there for sightseeing. Some Japanese also go to Sao Tome and Principe as tourists to see maritime nature and to do scuba diving. She showed me a travel brochure of Sao Tome and Principe. Its pictures were very very beautiful. She is a French teacher in her country and speaks French very well, but she can't speak English well. She studied foreign languages when she was young. The languages she can speak now are Spanish, French, and Italian. In Sao Tome and Principe, the official language is Portuguese. So she speaks four languages and now tries to study more foreign languages. She asked me about Japanese greetings, then I taught her "Thank you very much", "Good morning", "Good afternoon", "Good night" and "Good bye" in Japanese. When we said good-bye to each other that day, she used them in Japanese right away. I can only speak Japanese and English now, so I asked her why she could speak four languages. She answered, "I can speak Portuguese as an official language. I study three languages, Spanish, French, and Italian. Their grammars are similar. Once I learn one language, it is easier to start to study other similar languages next." I thought that its idea is same one; Japanese grammar is similar to Korean. I asked her a question as a person who wants to be a teacher in the future. The question is which method of studying English is important, first 'theory' and next 'practice' or first 'practice' and next 'theory'. Her answer is first is 'theory' and next is 'practice'. Every time people start to study, we should understand the basic theory as a foundation of one language. After understanding the basic theory, people try to do practice, for example, speaking and listening. We can react to any situations with the basic theory, she said strongly.
That day, I could talk with teachers who live in Africa. It was a useful opportunity for me to study English and increase my desire to be a teacher."